Re: [PLUG] quick and easy distro for virtual machine

[lists.plug@mas.ml1.net]

First, a general thank-you to everyone who has replied for your
suggestions.

On Mon, 16 Apr 2007 19:39:35 -0400, "Matthew Rosewarne"
<mukidohime@case.edu> said:
> On Sunday 15 April 2007 11:51, lists.plug@mas.ml1.net wrote:
> >I'm starting a personal project, though,
> > that requires a unix-ish environment; specifically, playing with Swarm
> > (www.swarm.org).
> 
> Why not just download the windows release?
> http://www.swarm.org/wiki/Swarm:_stable_release#Windows_binaries
> 
> It's based on cygwin, which is a UNIX-like environment for Windows.
> http://www.cygwin.com/

Yeah, I saw that after I had posted. I haven't had great luck with
Cygwin in the past, but it might be worth trying. The Windows release
only supports the Java version of Swarm, but that might be OK.

> > So I'm considering setting up Parallels (www.parallels.com) on my
> > Windows box, which has a dual-core Intel CPU and 2GB of RAM, so
> > shouldn't really be resource-constrained.
> 
> If you can't run the cygwin-based release, try the Free (GPL) QEMU VM 
> instead of Parallels or VMWare.  Get the all-in-one installer (with GUI) 
> from:
> http://www.davereyn.co.uk/index.htm

So many options! I'll try that and VMWare. Free is better than not free.

> if you don't mind the less-than-straightforward install process, It might 
> be better not to use a VM at all and use CoLinux instead.  CoLinux is a 
> linux kernel modified to run directly atop Windows and may give you 
> better results.
> http://colinux.wikia.com/

I was hoping to avoid a complicated install process, but that does look
interesting. Thanks for the pointer.
 
> > Now for my question: I'm looking for a distro that will be relatively
> > painless to set up on this VM. Distro technology has moved on a lot
> > since I was a sysadmin and I don't know anymore how the various distros
> > compare as far as ease of configuration is concerned. So I solicit the
> > list for recommendations or advice.
> > Thanks very much.
> 
> I'd strongly recommend using Debian, as it can provide you with only the 
> bare minimum you need, doesn't require tinkering to get a working system, 
> and is exceedingly robust.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll look into that and Ubunto and see
what looks most suitable.


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